My logo for “Smile! You’re Visiting New Jersey!” created my very creative nephew, Artist Kyle McFarlane
I have found that the way we market the State of New Jersey boring. Most of the tourism books created by the state tourism board and the local county tourism boards just don’t capture all the wonderful things to do and see in the State of New Jersey. From our quirky beach communities to our unique small downtown based towns, each section of the state is so different.
When most tourists think of New Jersey, they think of the opening scene of “The Soprano’s”, with the glimpses of Newark Bay and the skyline of lower Manhattan or the more urban sections of the state that have their share of problems. What we miss about our great state is that every part of the state has so much to offer. We even run into the paradox of North and South Jersey, where part of our state roots for New York teams and the other for Philadelphia teams and never the two should meet (except over the summer when I was in Cape May when Philly played the Mets to a very mixed crowd of fans).
We range from big cities, university towns and commuter townships to historical small towns and Revolutionary War era villages that rival anything in Vermont or New Hampshire with their town squares and “Greens” to the 18th century architecture with signs that read “Washington Slept here”. Don’t write off communities such as Newark or Paterson, which have a host of great things to do and experience. We have so much to offer.
So from this point, I have created this site to mirror the work I am doing on blog “MywalkinManhattan.com, which is walking every inch of the Island of Manhattan and surrounding parts of New York City, to creating this site to do the same with every corner of the State of New Jersey.
I have recategorized all my New Jersey based blogs from museums and cultural sites to festivals and special events that I have experienced and walking tours that I have enjoyed that I want to share with readers. This also includes great restaurants, delis and bakeries that dot our great state. If you have not been to New Jersey then you are missing a lot.
So join me as we explore the great State of New Jersey and say “Smile! You’re Visiting New Jersey!”
I thought this was an interesting video to describe the state. I hope you enjoy it.
The Newark Museum at 49 Washington Place in Newark, NJ.
I have been a member of the Newark Museum for 29 years and have enjoyed the experience. There is a lot of things to do at all times of the year.
During the Summer months, I enjoy “Jazz in the Garden” where local and international jazz musicians perform in the beauty of the back garden of the museum under the trees. These almost hour and a half performance can be enjoyed on sunny, clear days in the gardens and in the auditorium on a rainy afternoon. It is something I look forward to every summer.
Jazz in the Garden at the Newark Museum. The gardens are amazing in the summer months.
The Newark Garden in the back of the museum.
Jazz in the Garden was a big event before the pandemic. It is on hiatus for now. It had resumed after COVID with a fee and did not happen in the Summer of 2023. Still, I had enjoyed these concerts for years.
The video celebration of the new entrance reopening
Entering the foyer of the museum
During December of 2019 I attended a holiday afternoon tea at the Ballantine House, the historic home attached to the museum. The Ballantine’s were one of the oldest families in Newark, NJ and were once major brewers in the city. They were considered High Society in Newark and the home, and its renovation reflect that.
The outside of the Ballantine House in 2019.
A new tradition was started this year with a Holiday Afternoon Tea and tour of the mansion. The caterer did a nice job with the food and their was plenty of it. We had finger sandwiches, various scones and pastries and different varieties of teas.
After the tea, we had a tour of the house and a talk about how the Ballantine’s and their crowd celebrated the holidays. They would be an open house for the neighbors during the holidays and then on Christmas day were church services in the morning and then a lunch afterwards with the family.
Ballantine House set for the neighborhood open house
Entering the newly renovated Ballantine House.
Another nice event is the Members Mornings of specialty tours of the galleries on a Sunday morning and a light breakfast afterwards. These are really nice, and you get a more in-depth view of the galleries with the docents. This is where I highly recommend membership.
The Ballantine House model
The Ballantine House reopened after a two year renovation of the property and I toured it in January of 2024 to see the redesign of the home. The home had been cleaned and new signage and carpeting had been added to the site. They were new signs with interpretations of the house with some major design changes.
The Ballantine children in portrait.
The house had gotten some much needed renovation work and cleaning and the house looked sparkling and looked like someone had just moved in. In 2024, the house continued its tradition of being decorated for the Christmas holidays but with a twist to it
The Foyer of the Ballantine House
The fireplace in the Foyer of the home at the holidays
The front door ablaze with colors
The Reception/Receiving Room for guests.
The Receiving Room at the Ballantine House.
The Reception Room decorated for the holidays
We started the tour clock wise through all the rooms on the first floor starting with the Reception Room where guests would be received for a visit and would wait until the Ballantine’s were ready to greet you. We then moved onto the Library where the whole family would gather in the evenings to read and converse with one another in a more casual setting.
The Library
The Library at the Ballantine House
Mr. Ballantine’s chair and desk in the Library of the Ballantine House.
The Library decorated for the Christmas holidays:
The Library decorated for the Christmas holidays:
The Library decorated for the Christmas holidays:
The Dining Room
The Dining Room set for dinner.
The Dining Room sideboard.
The Dining Room decorated for the Christmas holidays:
The Dining Room decorated for the Christmas holidays:
The Billiard Room across the hall from the Dining Room.
The Billiard Room at the Ballantine House.
The Parlor at the Ballantine House.
The Parlor for receiving guests for afternoon tea
The other side of the parlor.
The Parlor set for tea.
The Parlor set up for the Christmas Eve Tea:
The Parlor set for the Christmas Eve Tea service of the neighbors:
The Parlor would have been set for a light reception on Christmas Eve for the neighbors in the immediate neighborhood to stop in and join the family for a casual conversation and have a light snack. No one would stay more than an hour and it was in bad manners to stay longer than that.
The reception foods would be replenished as they ran out and this would take place for about two to three hours on Christmas Eve night as people would be leaving for church services or on their way to other celebrations.
The tour took us next upstairs to see the renovated bedrooms on the second floor and the galleries where some of the jewelry and art objects were on display.
The Staircase decorated for the Christmas holidays
The beautiful stained glass window on the landing to the second floor.
Mr. & Mrs. Ballantine’s Bedroom
The Boudoir where Mrs. Ballantine did her work.
The Boudoir where Mrs. Ballantine worked.
Alice’s bedroom on the second floor that was adjoined to her parents room by the way of the Boudoir.
Alice’s bedroom on the second floor looking over Washington Park.
The staircase to the Third Floor to Alice’s family apartment.
This was the main room of the apartment that was used by the family for entertaining friends and family. Alice, her husband and their four children lived in this apartment until 1919 at the time of Mrs. Ballantine’s death. Then her daughter moved to another part of Newark and then onto Morris County.
The Third floor apartment for Alice and her family that Mrs. Ballantine build for Alice and her family.
The beautiful skylight in Alice’s apartment on the Third floor of the Ballantine house.
The decorative fireplace that worked in Alice’s family apartment on the third floor of the house
On my most recent trip to the museum, I attended the opening of the new ‘Norman Bluhm Metamorphosis’ exhibition on February 11th, 2020.
Artist Norman Bluhm
Norman Bluhm: Metamorphosis celebrates six decades of painting by post-war American artist Norman Bluhm (1920-1999), who combined action painting with a lavish sense of color and formal experimentation on a grand scale.
Paintings and works on paper dating from 1947 to 1998 are on view in the Museum’s Special Exhibition Gallery and the Traphagen promenade galleries surrounding the Charles W. Engelhard Court (Newark Museum publication press release).
These large works showcase the artist’s work over a fifty year period.
Norman Bluhm’s work is quite dramatic
In 2022, I went on the first Members Morning that we had in almost two years. We toured the “Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collusion” exhibition featuring the works by American San Franciso born artist of Philippine decent Carlos Villa.
Artist Carlos Villa in the exhibition “Worlds in Collison”
Video on the Exhibition “Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collison”
What made this exhibition interesting was the feather work that he used in his art. He was trying to capture the ethnic history of identity not just of the Asian but the Pan-Pacific cultures of Hawaii. He used robes and other costumes to show the dynamic of the background of these cultures. Not just that but what describes Americans who are not of white decadency and where their role plays in society. The impression I got from his work and from the tour was feeling like an outsider in the country he was born in.
One of the feathered cloches that are in the exhibition
I also visited the interactive exhibition “Endangered”, showing video screenings of nature on the walls of the Natural Science Galleries. The exhibition highlights how human behavior is affection the natural environment and what we can do to stop it.
In the Summer of 2022, we had a member’s tour of one of the ongoing exhibitions at the museum and the docent described the works of local Brooklyn based artist Saya Woolfalk.
I joined the membership one morning to tour the exhibition on artist Saya Woolfalk who is based out of Brooklyn. Her current exhibition “Tumbling into Landscape” is being featured on a long-term exhibition. The works are a communication with nature and our relationship with nature and with one another. When you walk through it you are so relaxed between the music and the lighting. The artist ‘uses science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the world in multiple dimensions’ (Newark Museum).
The videos in the Saya Woolfalk exhibition
Her look at nature is very interesting. She looks at our relationship with the natural world and to each other and where we belong. Here works have a calming effect on the visitor and our interaction with the art.
‘The Four Virtues’ (Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Fortitude)
She even did a study of the Hudson River School and how her art worked into that perspective of nature. She included between six paintings from the School of Art with a self-portrait of herself.
It was interesting how she used her own self to compare to the stylized view of nature taken on by these past artists.
Recently, I joined other members for a special “Members Morning” that happen every third Thursday entitled “The Art of Collecting Abstracts”. It was a look at the contemporary works that have been collected by the Newark Museum over the years. We got a look at works from the early part of the last century to today. Each of the pieces chose were a way for us to think about the artist and what they were trying to convey. Some used bold strokes and colors to tell their story. I thought they were quite colorful.
The group of us on the tour walked through various galleries, admiring and learning about the contemporary collections of abstract work from artists from various periods. Each docent took their take on pieces they admired in the collection.
Abstract by Ilya Bolotwosky “Study for Mural for Hall of Medicine, Public Health Building, New York World’s Fair.
I have been coming to the Turtle Back Zoo since I was in elementary school when we used to come here on field trips. I remember as a child having lunch on the lawn with my class and feeding the animals. That was back in the 1970’s with the old zoo set up. I had read that the zoo was falling apart by 1995 and they were ready to close it down. Like anything else, these zoos and parks need an update every few years to keep them relevant.
In 2000, as master plan was started in what direction the zoo wanted to go and in the next twenty years, I have seen the results of that hard work. You have many nicer displays, some still being too…
I know that this is not the traditional American holiday but somehow, I really enjoy Groundhog’s Day. It is a lot of fun to visit the zoos and if you ever can go out to Punxsutawney, PA to see the original festival try to do it. I went to Punxsutawney in 2016 and it really is an experience. It is one of those things you should do once in your life. I have been wanting to go back ever since but one thing after another has kept me from going. From the weather to my work schedule, it is tough to take the eight-and-a-half-hour hike down Route 80 but one day I will do it again.
COVID cancelled everything last year but since this is an outdoor event, it was nice to be celebrating the day being able to breathe again. I also wanted to do something different this year after going to the Staten Island Zoo for two years (2019 and 2020-see my write up on this blog). I had read about other Groundhog’s Day festivals and in 2019 I had heard about ‘Essex Ed’ at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ.
The entrance of Turtle Back Zoo at 560 Northfield Avenue
The festival at the zoo had been cancelled last year because of the pandemic and when I looked at their website this year and nothing was mentioned. When I called, the woman on the phone said there would be a ceremony at the zoo at 10:00am so I prepared to go to the zoo the next day.
In 2022, I had planned for what I thought would be an hour trip with traffic going through Newark, NJ and then the turn to Route 280 West. I walked out the door at 8:15am and ended up at the zoo at 9:00am. There was just a bit of traffic when I got into Downtown Newark and it was smooth driving when I got to Exit 10 and then no traffic into West Orange, NJ. This is where Turtle Back Zoo is located.
What surprised me when I got to the zoo was there was no one waiting to get in, no massive number of cars in the parking lot and when I got to the gate at 9:15am, there was no one there. One of the park employees said that they would be opening the gate at 9:45am and then they would start the program at 10:00am.
The entrance of the South Mountain Reservation Park
Since I had almost 45 minutes before the gates would even open, I decided to take a walk around the reservoir that is part of the South Mountain Reservation Park. It was about a mile around the frozen watershed, and I walked about half before I headed back to buy my ticket. What a cool crisp morning. The sun started to peek out as I walked back to the zoo and the woods looked so beautiful with the snow on the ground and trees.
The park in the early afternoon at the bridge
The early morning at the park was rather gloomy
I got into the zoo at 9:45am and headed to the antitheater and there was a small handful of people. It ended up the only people at the ceremony were the volunteer docents, the staff of the zoo, the local politicians and the press. There were maybe six of us who had come for the event. I remembered that there was nothing on the zoo’s website two days before so how would the public know this would be taking place?
Unlike the pageantry of Punxsutawney with bands and comedians and even the children’s choir like at the Staten Island Zoo, the whole ceremony took ten minutes. The county parks commission said a few words, then the County Executive said a few words and then the zoo events commissioner spoke.
The ceremony was held inside in 2023 because it was so cold
Then they introduced “Edwina from Essex”, who had replaced “Essex Ed” this year upon his retirement. I was not sure if the other groundhog was just too old or something else, but the new groundhog came out and was so cute and innocent. She just walked around the small platform and then looked at all of us. The parks commission read a poem from the groundhog. Then it was announced that she predicted an early spring! Everyone applauded and then that was it. Everyone dispersed.
Edwina of Essex at the Turtle Back Zoo made her appearance today
Video of Edwina surf
I was a little surprised that there was not more to the ceremony but later I talked with one of the staff members of the zoo and she told me that there are never that many people who come to this ceremony. I told her that more people would come if they made a bigger deal out of it. There was nothing on the website or on the events calendar leading the to the event and that I had to call in. She just smiled.
In 2023, I called in advance as the website said it was now 8:00am. I confirmed that time with the zoo and arrived before 8:00am. I was able to enter the press area which was inside as the press conference was inside as well (it was really cold that morning). The ceremony again took about fifteen minutes and the handler, the Zoo Director and the Country Freeholder and Executive all said a few words as Edwina munched on a sweet potato, not really paying much attention to us as the sweet potato. Again it was a cute ceremony and when the zoo opened, I was able to tour it again and take better pictures.
Edwina with her trainer on the morning of the ceremony
I had not been to the zoo in about five years, and I just walked around for the next hour watching the animals. I started at the Reptile House and looked at all the lizards and snakes since they were in season right now. The staff was available to us if there were any questions. It was nicely set up and I have to say that those snakes and lizards really do look you over.
The Turtle Back Zoo is a nice walk in the winter
I made my way past the closed carousel and the restaurant, The Savanna Cafe and looked over the bison display. That was very interesting as it was feeding time for them, so they paid no attention to us. I then went to the flamingo pond and what elegant birds. They were talking to one another like we were not there watching them. They just walked around and talked amongst themselves.
The pink flamingos stood guard that afternoon
The wolves were not out, and the poor cougars looked so cold and bored. They just walked around in the snow. In the Petting Zoo, I watched the chickens and the goats.
The chickens were smart and stayed inside on this cold day
I have never had animals look me over the way the rams did. They just stared at me like I was an alien from Outer Space.
The animals just stared at me like I was a foreign being
The otters and seals were outside and were going through their feeding when I walked by, and they seemed very active. They just watched us as they were eating and then swam in the pools but again, I could see how cold they were outside, and they made their way into their burros.
The pelicans in the Penguin House swam around
I walked to the Penguin House and that was a lot of fun. They were also going through their feeding and when they were done, they just dove around the small group of us and looking us over with curiosity. They also looked bored and were so happy to have someone to interact with that afternoon. They just swam right up to me and stared at me through the water. I felt like they were trying to tell me something with the way they were splashing around.
The penguins were doing their own thing that day
My last stop in the zoo was the Sea Turtle Recovery building. It was so nice to see the outreach that the zoo makes to help these animals get better before they are released back into the wild. We have been affecting their habitat so much with over-fishing that they are getting tangled in nets and hit by boats.
The whole tour of the zoo took about an hour and it was a nice walk. The sun had come out by this point and the skies started to clear. After I finished at the zoo, I decided to take a full walk around the reservoir and took a left and walked all around it. What a nice day for a stroll.
This poor cow just looked at me and begged me for help
I started getting hungry and did not know what was around the zoo. I had not noticed the pizzeria or the McDonalds across the street from the zoo when I entered.
The front of McDonald’s across the street from the zoo
In 2023, I was starved after the ceremony and I headed over to McDonalds (which I had remembered from the year before) and had a second breakfast. I love that Sausage Mcmuffin with Egg!
I’m sorry but breakfast at McDonalds is wonderful!
My review of McDonalds at 573 Northfield Avenue in West Orange, NJ:
With the restaurant being closed in the zoo, in 2022 though, I stopped at McLoone’s Boathouse at 9 Cherry Lane on the other side of the reservoir from the zoo. It looked closed to me from the walk, but I heard music and decided to investigate. What a nice lunch in both 2022 and 2023!
McLoone’s Boathouse is right on the reservoir of path located in the park and the bar area has the nicest views of the park. The inside of the restaurant was rustic with a main dining room with a roaring fire going in the fireplace. The large bar area had high-tops where you had views of the reservoir.
My server, Nikki, could not have been nicer. We had such a wonderful conversation, and she was so on top of things. She made some good recommendations for lunch, and I had a Grilled Cheddar Cheese with Short Ribs and a Coke.
McLoone’s sandwich menu
McLoone’s makes a Coke look fancy
The sandwich really hit the spot on a cool afternoon. You could taste the red wine that the short ribs had marinated in. It accented the sharp cheese so well and the crisp buttery bread. The side salad was a nice substitute for French fries (I ordered the same lunch both years).
The Grilled Cheese with Short Ribs at McLoone’s Boathouse is excellent!
While I was eating it was a pleasure to watch the people walk by having a nice stroll in the park. I can tell between COVID and the snow, people needed to get out of the house. Smiling faces were the thing that I saw as people passed by.
The view of the park with McLoone’s in the background
After I finished lunch, it was home for me. Even though it was a smaller ceremony, it was nice to see the groundhog again. Maybe ‘Edwina from Essex’ will be right, and it will be an early spring. The next six weeks will tell.
Happy Groundhog’s Day!
The ceremony at the Turtle Back Zoo with the handlers
Edwina doing her thing at the Groundhog’s Day ceremony
Edwina getting a treat from her handler
Edwina eating away
Edwina enjoying a snack
In 2026:
I returned to the Turtle Back Zoo in 2026 and was greeted by the snow piled high in the parking lot from the recent storm from the week before. It was 21 degrees when I got there so the ceremony would be held inside again. There was not much traffic on the road so I got to the zoo by 9:00am and had an hour before the ceremony. So I walked across the street and went to McDonald’s as I had in the past for a second breakfast.
The McDonald’s at 573 Northfield Avenue
The newly renovated McDonald’s dining room
It has become kind of a tradition to have breakfast at McDonald’s before seeing the groundhog both here, in Staten Island and in Punxsutawny, PA when I am out there for that ceremony. There is nothing better than the Sausage McMuffin with Egg before bracing for the cold weather.
The Sausage McMuffin Value Meal on Groundhog’s Day in 2026
They make the best breakfast sandwiches
The hashbrowns really warm you up
After a good breakfast and a little rest, it was off to see the groundhog. Unlike Punxsutawney and Staten Island, the ceremony in West Orange has been held inside the Education Center over the past few years because of the cold.
The ceremony inside the Education Center
Out of the three ceremonies I have attended in the past, this has got to be the quickest. The whole ceremony still is only about twenty minutes without much pomp. I am always surprised by this. I have to admit there was a bigger crowd this year than the last two times I visited in the past.
The start of the ceremony
The Zoo Director talked first about the history of the program at the Turtle Back Zoo and welcoming Lady Edwina to the program:
Video One the opening ceremony
Then the Zoo Director lead opening remarks that she received from Edwina about the state of Winter. There will be six more weeks of winter coming. It has been so cold that her predict carries some weight. Then Edwina made her appearance to join us in the celebration. The whole ceremony took about fifteen minutes.
The Directors opening talk
After the ceremony was over, the County Director gave a talk on the Parks system and it history. He also talked about the growth of the zoo and items current status. It seems the zoos visitation has grown over the last several years.
The County Executive gave his talk
Then the ceremony was over and Edwina just roamed around her pen eating small snacks and charming everyone who caught her attention. She ran and frolicked around and had a good time.
Then Lady Edwina arrived out of her burrow
Being fed by her trainer
Sniffing her snack
Edwina roaming around her pen
Edwina enjoying attention
Wondering around her lair, she roamed around and ran from person to person getting their attention. I just think she enjoyed being out of her pen.
Enjoying a snack
Enjoying corn at the end of the ceremony
She looked so cute eating her piece of corn and looking back at us
Edwina heading home after the ceremony probably to have a nap
At the end of the ceremony, it was time to go home. Every time they tried to get Edwina back in her traveling cage, she just ran around more enjoying all the attention. By the time I left, they still could not catch her. She must have liked all the attention on her special day.
My other Groundhog’s Day blogs from previous years and places:
Day Thirty-Seven: Happy Groundhog’s Day from Punxsutawney, PA
We had the first Solar Eclipse travel across the United States since 1979 and at first, most people did not make a fuss over it but as the time approached, everyone started to ‘freak out’ that they must see it. I just wanted to avoid New York City that day and see it somewhere else.
I had a member’s invitation to see it at the American Museum of Natural History, but I wanted to avoid the city today and that museum as I knew it was going to be packed and we would all be shoved into Rose Hall where the planetarium was located. It was not that I thought it would be done wrong, but I did not want to deal with the crowds at the AMNH.
At the last minute, the Newark Museum in Newark, NJ (See review on TripAdvisor and my blog “VisitingaMuseum”) had a special function for the day where you could get the eclipse glasses and see the show. They did not know what they were in for as the crowd at the museum swelled into over 500 people. They did not have enough of anything for all the people that came. The line was still going on when I got to the front of the line. They ran out of glasses when I got there but they provided me with a ‘pin-hole’ paper so that I could see the eclipse though the hole. I was lucky people were willing to share their glasses.
In New Jersey, we were so far from the path of the moon that we only got to see about 75% covering of the sun, so it was still bright out by us. So, you really needed the glasses. It was so interesting to see the moon cover the sun and it moved ever so slowly. The display started at around 2:45pm EST and like I said you would never know it was happening because of the light of the sun. Some people said they noticed the difference, but I didn’t see or feel anything different.
Horizon Plaza and the Garden area were mobbed with people from 2:45pm to about 3:30pm and they had the path of the sun and moon on TV on live stream inside the museum at the auditorium. I swear, the dopey things people will say on camera just to be on TV.
What the Eclipse looked like down South where the eye of it was
The reporters didn’t even know what to ask once it was over. Some people really got into it and most seemed to care less. I thought it was interesting to see this cosmic display. When it happened in 1979, I was in high school and I don’t even remember anyone talking about and thinking back to it, I think it was a cloudy day that afternoon.
This is a documentary by NASA
I left around 4:00pm when the path crossed, and people got tired looking up. I could also feel the strain on my eyes. The nice part was I took the bus from home and did not have to tackle their parking lot. Lunch was at Central Restaurant, 30 Central Avenue, Downtown Newark, for an amazing meal (See review on TripAdvisor and my blog ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC’).
Central Restaurant at 30 Central Avenue in Newark, NJ
The next time this will happen will be in 2024 so we have some time and will travel from Texas to Maine. So maybe we will get a better view next time. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty awesome.
Places to Visit:
The Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 596-6550
Open: Wednesday-Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm/Closed Monday and Tuesday
It has been a year since I started the blog site and the project has now taken me on an extensive trip to Los Angeles, a tour of the State of New Jersey and the Anniversary Day of the project to the much changing and gentrifying Newark, NJ. You heard correctly, Newark like all major cities is going through a revival and I had two afternoons and evenings at the Newark Conservatory located on Prince Street.
I have been a member of the Newark Conservatory for years but never really got involved in their events until recently. The organization is small but is currently looking at way to ‘Green’ Newark. Yes, Newark still does have its share of problems but like any other city has small groups of people trying to deal with them. I have seen so many changes in the downtown area alone.
The Conservatory has sponsored many interesting events and is doing their best to promote urban farming. On June 4th, they sponsored a ‘Strawberry Jam’, promoting their strawberry crops at the Court Street Farm. It was an interesting event with strawberry tea infusions, strawberry jam tastings and tours of the farm and the Kruger mansion, which sits on the back part of the farm.
The Newark Conservatory Gardens
The farm has some interesting crops being grown and the strawberry crop was pretty extension. We were able to take the tour around the farm, have tastings of the various fruits being grown and see how the local kids were getting involved on the farm.
The Kruger Mansion sits at the edge of the farm like a sad remnant of a bygone era. The poor mansion, which once stood in one of the most fashionable areas of the city, is falling apart and it is such a beautiful home. It has been partially renovated but the rest of the house is falling apart. It is so overgrown that it sits like a haunted house on the edge of optimism. There are plans to fix it but like they said to me it takes money.
The Newark Conservatory Farm with the Kruger Mansion right behind it.
The other event they ran was a ‘Wine & Cheese in the Garden’ event to raise money for the main farm on Prince Street. It was a really beautiful night of tour of the main gardens, tasting local vineyards in New Jersey and a lecture on the future efforts of the gardens. The event attracted a large number of supporters and members and the gardens were in beautiful shape with long flowering beds and natural art work.
The Conservatory has big plans with the renovation of a church into an experimental kitchen and classrooms and expanding the gardens further. These grass roots efforts are really improving this area of the city.
So on this very special One Year Anniversary of the ‘Walk in Manhattan and traveling Beyond’, I wish my best to all the readers and a very Happy Father’s Day to everyone. A big Happy Father’s Day to my dad, Warren, who could not be with me in Los Angeles or Newark on this special day but is always with me in spirit on these walks.
My father and I at the Junior Friends of the Library First Annual Grandparent’s Day lunch
Its amazing how many wonderful things there are to see in your own backyard! I’ll keep on walking!
mywalkinmanhattan 